George's Follys
by amberfly
Summary: General Hammond takes on a responsibility that will test his legendary patience. One, freckled face, little Jack O'Neill.
1. Chapter 1

Author: Amberfly  
Series: George's Folly.  
Title: The Midnight Feast. 01/  
Warnings: None.  
Feedback: Yes, on list or a_.au

For the ./group/Stargatekiddrabbles/

_For the purpose of this story, Jack is a seven-year-old boy._

~o~

Jack whistled through his teeth, and wriggling onto his belly, heaved a sigh. Fidgeting and deciding lying on his belly was as equally as uncomfortable, he flipped back once more.

"Shoot! I am sooo bored! What to do…what to do…"

Pummeling his mattress with his fists, Jack had tried, but he couldn't fall sleep. He tried every trick he remembered. He tried counting sheep and then rather unwisely, he counted Unas. Frightening himself silly, he switched on his lamp, deciding to read his favorite Simpson comic instead.

"This is just peachy;" he complained," I'm a seven-year-old insomniac colonel."  
Jumping out of bed, and wandering into the bathroom, Jack came up with a plan. He wondered how much toilet paper he could flush before making a gigantic mess. The experiment wasn't a success, and he watched with horror as toilet water bubbled up and spilled into Daniel's once tidy quarters. "Oops! That's gonna be a problem." Grabbing the clean towels, he piled them onto the floor, and slamming the bathroom door shut, picking his way through the seeping water, shrugged with disinterest.

"Dang! Think I'd have remember basic plumbing 101 Good thing these aren't my quarters…I'd be mighty pissed!"

The consequences of having bare feet and sodden pajamas meant he was uncomfortable, cold and cranky. The fact he'd brought this all on himself slipped past the little boy with the ginger freckles, and huffing, he grumbled some more. "What a mess!" Jumping back onto his clean bed, his wet and grubby feet staining the white sheets, Jack continued to complain to himself.

"Oh, great! How and I supposed to sleep if my bed is all wet and icky?" Banging his head repeatedly into his feather pillow, he added, "Maybe I can knock myself out, and wake up when this nightmare has ended."

To his annoyance, he managed to remain both conscious and bored. With another sigh emanating from the depths of his belly, he looked at his watch and said, "Mm! Whaddya know! Almost the witching hour! I do declare that its way past time for a little midnight snack."

Flipping onto his stomach and hanging upside down, Jack dragged out his box of contraband candy, and tipped the contents onto the bed. "What a fine selection this is! Daniel has excellent taste, as does Carter and George!" Jamming the lid back on the shoe box and pushing it back under the mattress, he skipped over to Danny's bar fridge to investigate its contents. Moving the milk and juice with a shudder, Jack's little hand searched until he found the Doctor Pepper he had spied earlier that day. "Ah! Come to Poppa!"

The night suddenly became far more interesting, and swinging his legs back and forth, Jack drank the forbidden soda, burping loudly with satisfaction. "Ah!" he said "A mighty fine drop from Chateau Jackson if I do say so myself."

Patting his pajama pocket, Jack took and then studied the Snickers bar with interest, reading all the ingredients carefully. "Sounds like this baby has all the essential food groups to me!" He ripped the top off the candy bar with his teeth, delicately spitting the paper onto the ground, and said, "Gentlemen, to follow that cheeky little drop of soda, the finest piece of candy Daniel's money can buy."

Enjoying himself for the first time since his accident, Jack reached across and fumbling with Daniel's CD's found the one he wanted. Always a huge fan, Jack sang along to the Beach Boys in his sweet treble, the high notes no longer any problem. Stifling another yawn, bored with the music, Jack wondered when the General might come and check on him again. Narrowing his eyes, he played the drama card and kicked at his blankets in temper.

"He's probably to busy saving the world to bother with me!"

The wet pajama bottoms uncomfortably sticking to his legs; Jack wriggled them down his hips and kicked them across the room. Looking down, he rolled his eyes at the 'Finding Nemo' boxers Hammond had insisted he wear. "Oh, for crying out loud!"

He hadn't wanted to wear them and had made a… fuss. A loud, foot stamping, fuss that everyone in a small radius had been privy too. "Hell no! I'd rather go commando! Don't fancy little fish that close to my tackle."

Shaking his head, Jack's sulky face stretched George's legendary patience to its limits. He folded his arms over his chest and eyed the cross little boy carefully. "Excuse me? You do remember who you are talking to, don't you?"

"Yeah, the man who wants to humiliate me more than I already am! I-am-not-wearing-those-damn-shorts!"

General Hammond growled deep in his throat, his patience spent. Tugging at Jack's jeans, and threatening to undress him personally, he made one final warning.

"Jack, if I have to undress you, I can assure you my hand will be across your behind before I am done. So, given your choices?"

"I am doing this under protest, sir!" Always one to admit to being out gunned, Jack snatched the underwear and ran into the bathroom to change. Slamming the door shut and sliding the bolt across, the little colonel felt his hair blush to the roots. "Yeah, like that's ever gonna happen, baldy!" He did however, get changed as requested.

Folding his arms and shuddering at the memory, Jack scanned the VIP room carefully. Striding around the room, inspecting it carefully, Jack's little fingers itched with mischievousness. The memory of his humiliation at the General's hands wasn't Daniel's fault, but he was the one who was going to pay the price.

Jack needed quarters for the interim, so the General assigned him Daniel's old room, with stern warnings not to touch anything. Daniel had made a token objection, scanning his room with wild eyes.

"Sir, wouldn't Jack be better of in another room? His old one? Any old one? Call Jacob, this is his fault after all!"

"Son, I have given this careful thought," said the General, "but this room is close to the one I am using. Besides, who knows what unsavory things the colonel kept in his room! I can trust you to have nothing that may… offend the boy!"

"Great, Jack's Playboys are safe while my research is in mortal danger!"

"I will talk to Jack, don't worry, he will know he's not to touch anything." George nodded his head, discussion over.

Jack was thrilled, and unwisely called out, "YES!" It was probably the duck waddle that did him in.

George gasped; eyebrows raised, and grunted his annoyance. "Come here young man, and wipe that smirk from your face!" Sitting down and pulling Jack between his knees, George Hammond tapped the small nose while reading him the riot act. "Jack, Doctor Jackson's personal items are not to be touched." Folding his arms across his ample stomach, George added with a disapproving frown, "Do not disobey me, airman."

Daniel studied the crafty little colonel's face and fought the urge to splutter with disbelief. He coughed politely and waggled his eyebrows up and down.

"That's it? Are you sure? Jack isn't thinking clearly at the moment! Maybe the room down the hall, or with you? Then you can watch him…all night if need be." Daniel was desperate. Jack's melting brown eyes and saintly smile hadn't fooled him.

"People," George said, never taking his eyes from Jack's face, "I am well aware Colonel O'Neill isn't the same man as he was this morning, but I am confident he remembers how to follow orders."

"Yep! Trust me!" Jack smiled, showing several missing teeth.

Sam and Teal'c exchanged nervous glances, while Daniel sunk into a chair. Rapping Jack's head with his knuckle, he said. "Jack, I know you! Do not touch anything in this room, hear me?"

Frowning and slapping at his friend's far larger hand, Jack replied, a hurt sniff punctuating every word. "Daniel! You crush me! As if I would touch any of your excellent candy or nicely chilled soda cans!"

"I mean it, Jack!"

Jack snorted at the memory of Daniel's outrage. "So, back to the music, let's see what Danny boy has here." Sorting through the CDs, tossing onto the bed what he rejected, candy bar jammed into his mouth, Jack jumped with fright as his door flew open. Looking up, and seeing the look of horror cross George's face, Jack sat perfectly still, hoping he'd not be noticed.

He was.

"Jack O'Neill, what in the blue blazes do you think you are playing at?"

"General!" Jack gagged as a piece of candy stuck in his throat. Spitting the sucked nut clear across the room and swiping his hand under his mouth, he dived under the rumpled bedcovers, and squeaked, "Night, sir, sorry if my singing woke you."

Sitting heavily on the side of the bed, George pulled back the covers and swatted the Finding Nemo clad backside sharply. "Front and centre, my boy!" Pulling the squirming child into a sitting position, George drew a deep breath.

Jack yelped. "Ow!" Gulping and scrambling further up the mattress, far away from the hard hand he'd just felt the little colonel's eyes widened with trepidation. "Something I can do for you?"

"Oh, yes, but not tonight, we have all day tomorrow to discuss what obeying orders means!" George wagged his finger under the child's nose, but seeing the look of confusion, lowered his voice. He pulled Jack into a hug.

"Jack, I think it will be for the best if you stay with me until the Tok'ra antidote takes effect. I know this has been hard on you, but it is only temporary. It will be okay, just have to remain positive! Can you do that for me, son?"

Jack lowered his eyes, refusing to allow the general to see his tears. "Can I stay with you? Really? Because. I hate being here, everyone looks at me! I feel like an exhibit at the zoo!"

This was the first time Jack had voiced his fears and his face crumpled into tears. Mostly crocodile tears, incase George wanted to discuss the plumbing seeping under the door soaking Daniel's papers. "Can we go now?"

George was always faster than he looked, both psychically and mentally. He hadn't missed anything. Leaning down, he said. "Well, given the fact this room is fast becoming under water, yes, you can sleep with me tonight. Tomorrow, after we discuss cause and effect at very close quarters, you can call Doctor Jackson and offer your heartfelt apologies. Patting Jack's little rump, he added softly, "And I do mean at very close quarters."

Jack gulped.

TBC..


	2. Chapter 2

Author: Amberfly.  
Series. George's Folly. 02#  
Title: Intricacies and Variables.  
Category: General

The next morning, Jack's chickens came home to roost. Generally speaking. George was tired, embarrassed by his 2IC's behavior, and livid with the damage done to Daniel's room. He knew exactly who was to blame and retribution was to be swift. Eyes narrowed, he didn't bother to knock.

"Jack! Out of that bed this instant! You and I have a lot to discuss!" Hands on hips, George used his best military voice and boomed. "Now, airman!"

"Mggrpphhh?" Muffled sounds emanated from the depths of the blankets. One bare little foot hang out, toes twitching, and a stray arm flung itself clear. Jack was stirring.

Ear tugged firmly, Jack was unceremoniously hauled out of bed and made to stand at attention.

"Hey! I need that ear!" The frown that followed was comical due to the reddish hair sticking up like a toilet brush. The cow lick was especially pronounced and George thought he looked a lot like Huckleberry Finn. Mores the pity. The cute appearance of the boy didn't change his mind though, and George continued his lecture.

"Young man, listen up real careful. Now is not the time to be sassing me. I have a hankering to whoop that behind of yours for you."

Jack O'Neill looked at his accuser, squinted a little and then yawned widely. Clearly the parental threat wasn't taken to heart. Knuckling at his eyes with childish vulnerability, Jack looked younger then ever. His pajama top was buttoned up crookedly, his pants were riding up his legs; and he had a stuffed toy under his arm. George felt his temper deflate; Jack was just a little boy. Just a very naughty one. His temper returned.

Sitting up and smacking his lips together, Jack whined. "Huh? I 'don wanna go to school! I wanna go back to sleep!" He then rolled onto his stomach and passed gas.

"Jonathon O'Neill!"

"Yup? Better out than in, sir."

After the previous night's debacle, it had taken the little colonel awhile to get to sleep and he was tired. George was equally tired, and as he held the upper hand, he whipped the covers off, while lightly swatting the upturned butt.

"Ouch! Hey!" Jack opened his mouth to continue his complaint when George growled deep in his throat. Raising a warning finger, he explained that Jack had to the count of three, and then there was going to be unpleasantness. "One-two…"

Jack gulped, and biting his top lip, looked longingly at his messy little nest. Raising a hand and flapping it close to his lips, he muttered. "Three?"

Bristling with indignation, George drawled in his best Texan accent, refusing to rise to the bait. "Well, young man, what do you have to say about your disgraceful behavior last night? In addition, what are you going to say to Daniel? Look at this room!"

"Hello Daniel?" Jack was nothing if not opportunistic. "No, really, sir, look there's Daniel!"

Walking in, coffee in one hand, walnut cookie in the other, Doctor Jackson looked around the room, his mouth opening and shutting like a stranded goldfish.

"What the?" He glared and made a lunge for the bed. "I am going to…."

"Doctor Jackson!" George didn't feel like parenting another SG1 team member. "That's quite enough!"

"One? Two? Three?" The little boy giggled at his cutting wit.

Not everyone appreciated it, alas. Face turning a deeper shade of red, Hammond pointed to the bathroom and growled an order" That's enough! I'll put that little bit of insubordination down to you not being fully awake!" Reaching across and grabbing the skinny little arm, George then frog marched the cackling Jack into the bathroom.

"Hurry up and finish what you need to do, and when you are done, make sure you pick up all those towels!" Giving the little boy a push, the general bunched his fists on his hips. "It beggars belief what that child can do in under twelve hours! Look at this room!"

"Dear God!" Daniel said as he spied a pile of soggy, rumpled papers. "Are those my papers on the Aztec culture on P3X-444?" Flapping his arms in the air, he flew across the room to rescue the soggy papers before squawking with the terrible truth. "They are!! I spent hours translating them! Jack!"

Silence. Moments ticked by.

The said little boy was busy in the bathroom, sitting on the toilet while cutting his toenails with Daniel's nail clippers.

"Jack? I know you can hear me!"

"Daniel! I am taking a dump!" Crawling on his knees, Jack was busily trying the find the nail clippers he dropped.

"Jack! That language isn't appropriate!" The first real smile of the day tugged at George's lips.

"Please!" Daniel pinched the bridge of his nose between two fingers and counted to ten. SG1 all knew Jack wasn't happy about the Tok'ra arm bracelet shrinking him, but he couldn't see how it was actually his fault.

He tried again to save his possessions. "General, if he needs another room, let him have Teal'c's! The worst he can do is burn the building down." Turning around and sitting on the rumpled bed, Daniel slapped his hand on his forehead at the candy smeared all over the covers. "How long did they say the antidote will take to work? Maybe we can freeze Jack? Jacob might have him."

Sighing, George took a sad breath, "Whatever the time frame it's still too long for Jack. I suggest we all knuckle down and make the best of an impossible situation. I'll make sure your room is restored properly, and I'll take the cost of the damage from Colonel O'Neill's paycheck." Looking around the room, he lowered his voice and grimly added, "That's right after I take it from his scrawny little hide!"

Silence filled the room once more. Daniel took a step backwards. "Oh, that's okay, sir. I'm sure Jack is sorry."

"Trust me, he will be." George called out to the mysteriously quiet little pest. "Jack? Front and centre! I haven't heard an apology I am happy with yet!"

Peering into the toilet bowl, Jack saw the lost nail clippers disappear down the S-bend. "Drat!" Opening the door, laden with wet towels, Jack dumped them at Daniel's feet and muttered, "Said I was sorry last night!" Lowering his voice to a whisper, Jack added, "Having trouble remembering things, sir? Know how you can drop a decade or two!" With a casual shrug, throwing his hands out in a conciliatory manner, he said.

"God only knows why you are all surprised! It's me! You were crazy to have left me alone in the first place! I am only seven years old after all!"

His hands tucked behind his back, his shiny black shoes tapping with irritation, General George Hammond looked down his nose at his little charge. "That's enough, Jack! You swore you would behave like the officer and gentleman you are supposed to be. Now, we have a lot to discuss before we leave the Mountain."

"We do?"

OoO

Jack's eyes slid from one unimpressed face to the other. No one was laughing and no one seemed to be enjoying themselves. Good, neither was he! Let them be the seven-year-old and see if they felt like being the model citizen. He knew he'd been a hellion and if Charlie had behaved like this, he'd have been dancing around rubbing a smarting little backside. But, he wasn't Charlie, and he didn't care.

"We are waiting, young man." George was grinding out every word and Jack knew he was playing with fire.

Frowning and scrunching his bare toes into a tight ball, Jack fought the urge to poke out his tongue, run away. He figured no one knew the bowels of the SGC better than him, and maybe spending the month there wouldn't be so bad. Sighing and giving his bottom lip another savage chew; he felt the start of another blush from his neck all the way to his ears. George had already warned him about running away and had sworn to bring in the marines and their tracker dogs to haul his ass back again. It was one thing to be manhandled by the general but quite another by his underlings.

"Jack? I asked you a question." General Hammond growled.

What ever it was, Jack hadn't been listening. "Huh?"

He hadn't expected to be treated like this, and pushing his bottom lip out, the little colonel folded his arms tightly across his belly. He wanted sympathy, he wanted the odd beer, he wanted Anise to get her ass back here and fix him. If being surrounded by toe tapping people twice his size wasn't bad enough, things took a turn for the worst. George reached across and tweaked Jack by his ear.

"We are still awaiting your apology to Daniel!"

"Generallll, let-me-go-oo!" Jack whined and wriggled desperately. "That ear is one of a set!"

George was having none of it, what was left of his patience had officially expired.

The more Jack wriggled, the more his ear hurt, and reluctantly standing still, he looked up, and groaned. While he admitted he might have been less than considerate with Danny's belongings, he couldn't see why such recriminations were necessary. The flooding was an accident. The borrowing of the candy to be expected, and the clothes and papers flung everywhere was temporary madness on his behalf. It was the Tok'ra and their damn wristbands fault. The colognes, deodorants and gels upended and discarded were his way of saving Danny the embarrassment of the marines thinking he was a girl. It was kindness really, not vandalism.

Astonishment and indignation flickering in his eyes, George flexed and unflexed his hand subconsciously. "Jack O'Neill, my patience with you is about to expire, I suggest you chose your next words carefully." Zeroing in, his nose inches from the little colonel's, George breathed, "understand me, airman?"

Remembering the swat to his hindquarters, Jack wriggled, and putting his hand to his ear, tried to take a strategic step backwards. "Ow! Sir! How am I going to hear you yelling at me if my ear turns black, rots, and falls off?"

Tightening his hold, the general maneuvered the squirming little colonel back into his eye line. "Apologize, and I'll let you go, Jack."

"Never! Ow! Sir! My eye is bugging out now! Letmegoletmegoletmegoooo!"

"Apologize."

"Crap!"

Day two of his enforced childhood was not going well, and with an uncharted ocean of thought, Jack couldn't help imagining a filthy cell complete with the obligatory piece of dirty chalk, looming in his immediate future. That or a mountain of unpeeled potatoes.

Squeaking, Jack began to explain his nights work. Seeing the words form in his mind, and knowing how ridiculous they would sound, he couldn't seem to stop them as they tumbled from his mouth. Talking quicker and quicker, he explained in detail, complete with gagging sounds, how he suffered from insomnia because he was force fed chicken strips with radioactive broccoli. Batting at the general's hand and whining, he said, "This was your all fault, General!"

"What? My fault?"

Waving his hand in the air as he felt another tweak to his ear, Jack told of Unas rampaging through the can and his bravery under fire as stuffed the monster down the u-bend. Putting his hand over the generals, and trying to unlace his fingers, Jack winced and glared at Daniel before he added spitefully.

"Those boxes full of your incredibly boring notes fell out of the cupboards when Nirrti tried to infiltrate the room, but lost the will to live while reading them. Nice one, Daniel! Who needs a zat when they can read about your theories of the boring and dead?"

"Boring? Dead? Nirrti?" Daniel did another stranded goldfish impersonation.

Fixing the open-mouthed archeologist with a scathing look, Jack sniffed, and polishing his nails on the palm of the other hand, added, "If it wasn't for me, people, the world again would be in peril."

The indignation waxed fast and furious, and Daniel and George were beyond feeling merely aggravated. Listening to Jack's excuses, Daniel waved his hand in the air and spluttered they were preposterous, even for him.

"A Unas? You destroyed my room because you thought a Unas was in my bathroom?"

Throwing his arms out, his glasses slipping constantly down the bridge of his nose, Daniel demanded an explanation that was at least half-believable. "Why don't you try that again, and this time try throwing the truth in?" Turning around and pointing to the draws hanging out of his cupboards, Daniel said between gritted teeth, "Look what you've done in one night!"

It had to be said that the once neat and tidy VIP quarters were in disarray. The carpet tiles began to smell damp and musty. The bathroom littered with soggy bits of bunched up toilet paper. Draws and cupboards hung precariously open, revealing private and personal items. The air-conditioned had blown letters and then carelessly dumped them wherever they landed.

Picking up a handful of Daniel's torn papers and placing them on the table with meticulous care, General Hammond lowered his voice and struggling for patience, said, "Jack, apologize to Doctor Jackson, pack your gear, and come with me. What you have done to his personal things is reprehensible and a lesson about consequences of actions is well over due. While you are under my care, things may not be quite so rosy for you."

Huffing at life's intricacies, variants, and injustices, Jack blinked, and considering himself a true martyr, sighed. Drawing a breath at another rattling shake, he shrugged. "I don't know! It just rather got messy when I wasn't looking. Sorry, I guess, Daniel. To quote a great team leader, "Time to build that bridge and get over it, Doctor Jackson."

Jack beamed. This was a witty comment and surely they would all fall about laughing.

No one moved a muscle.

His chin hitting his chest, Jack figured the half ass apology was better than nothing. _After all,_ he thought to himself while studying his tiny toes with great interest, _it wasn't his fault a Unas had spooked him_. It was his considered opinion that the conversation now bordered on the trivial and paltry. He had apologized, what more could these people expect? Blood?

Hearing the snort of disbelief from Daniel, the little boy with the cowlicks grinned behind his hand. Rolling his eyes dramatically, Jack whined, "Said I was sorry didn't I? Wanna ya want, Daniel? An affidavit written in Unas drool?"

"That's it! Jack! Move!"

"Ow! Ow! Sir! Ow!"

Marched out the door, his ear once again smarting under the tender ministrations of the two star general, the tiny, ginger haired little colonel groaned. His little feet barely touching the ground, he thought about the growing blemishes to his extraordinary reputation. Daring to throw a shifty glance at the General, he narrowed his eyes, and vowed to do whatever it took to repair it. "_If I can survive the Tok'ra and their arm bands, I can sure as heck survive you."_

  
Brave words indeed.


	3. Chapter 3

Author: Amberfly  
Series: George's Folly  
Title: Pride Before the Fall. 03/  
Warnings: None.  
Feedback: Yes please.

It had been a mild enough winter but it had been cruelly persistent. The new grass hadn't bothered pushing itself through the shards of ice that covered the ground, and once spectacular, the ice no longer glittered in the sun. The new buds of spring remained tightly closed, and everyone felt the strain of the long and tedious Colorado weather.

No one more the little boy watching the tumbling rain as it drenched his world. He petted his white mouse, feeding her cookies while making sure everyone knew he wasn't pleased to be inside. "Antoinette? Can I go outside? I am soo bored!"

"Don't be ridiculous!" The housekeeper replied. "You'll catch your death out there! That mouse in her cage? Doctor Jackson will be here in a minute and I don't want to spend hours searching for that rodent!"

"Yes, she's in her cage!" He casually lied. The twitching whiskers of the white mouse tickling his hand, Jack brought the little creature to his lips, and sighed for the hundredth time. "Antoinette, why can't I stay here? I won't be any trouble!"

Walking into the room, Antoinette sighed very softly, but Jack still heard her. He resisted the urge to poke out his tongue and batted his melting brown eyes for all they were worth. She wasn't fooled, and handing him a cup of warm milky tea.

"Child, trouble is your first, middle, and last name! Now, General Hammond has called Doctor Jackson and he is on his way. Be a good boy and I'll make us a special supper tomorrow night."

"Yuck! Why tea?"

"Could be water, Jack."

"Could be coffee, Antoinette."

"Where's Doctor Jackson got to? I rang to remind him over an hour ago."

"Real subtle there, Mrs. A.!"

"Wasn't born yesterday, Jack! Was that the door bell?"

Daniel walked through the door and waggled a greeting to his little friend, and winced at the cold look he received in return. "Oh, I see we still aren't happy?" He asked Antoinette, not lowering his voice enough.

"No…we…are….not!" Spat Jack before jumping of the sofa and running up the stairs.

OoO

While the housekeeper made Daniel a cup of coffee, Jack orchestrated an escape plan. He wasn't staying with Daniel while George was out of town, and that was that. He decided to hideout in the huge old oak tree, and waiting for his chance, slipped out the back door, white mouse in his pocket.

"Anise, don't look at me like that! I need company, and as you can't boss me around, guess you are it!" He said gravely, feeling very sorry for himself.

He stood on the back porch and looked around George's leafy backyard, chewing at his bottom lip. The grass was wet, the wind howled, and good sense tried to nudge at the corners of his mind. After hours of rain falling from swollen clouds, the temperature had fallen steadily all morning. The gusty north easterly winds made the trees bend, sway, and crack, and Jack knew climbing the oak was dangerous. With a pang of conscience, he knew he would have skinned Charlie alive if he'd pulled a stunt like this.

"Mm, this may not be such a great idea." He said, watching the branches shake in the wind. Shrugging, and with a furtive glance over his shoulder, Jack made up his mind. "No point in delaying this any further! Man's gotta do what a man's gotta do."

So, he made sure the little mouse was safe, turned his ball cap back to front, and scaled the tree.

Finally, after slipping and losing his footing several times, Jack made it. With his bony little backside perched on a slippery branch, he twisted his fingers together, panting with the exertion. "Whew! Could really use a beer!" Looking clear across the yard from his advantage spot, Jack saw the back door open and his friend walk out. "Ah, the good Doctor Jackson! Finished talking about me with the hired help? Well, bad move, Danny, now I hide and you can go seek!"

The mottled rays of sun light peeked dully through the leaves, and Jack figured that it would provide him with a natural camouflage. "Mm," he observed shrewdly," I could stay here for hours if it wasn't so damn cold." Looking into the sky, he muttered, "Crap, I'll probably die of exposure, get revived, so George can kill me again." Peering down into the yard and shivering as icy raindrops trickled down the back of his neck, Jack watched Daniel search the yard with malicious interest.

The wind howled around his ears, and blowing on his frozen fingers, Jack played the hot-cold game he'd remembered from his first childhood. It hadn't lost its appeal.

"Nope! You are colder than a witch's tit, Danny! God, some babysitter you turned out to be, lost the kid within ten minutes. Think! Where would a pissed off, known tree climber, hide? Not rocket science here, Doctor."

Wriggling to get more comfortable, Jack watched his friend stamp his wet feet in the ground and with a feeling of malevolence, hoped he was as miserable as he looked. "Good, misery loves company, Doctor Jackson, so welcome to my crappy world."

The virus from Anise's armbands still raging through his system, Jack's patience felt stretched to the limit. He hated having to be answerable to his friends and as the days slowly dragged on, he felt inundated by the flood of memories, anticipations, and childish apprehensions that swept over him. When George had left that morning for Washington, Jack's insecurities surfaced, and he knew he'd reacted babyishly. Frightening himself with his display of temper, he bolted outside, refusing to answer his friend's repeated calls. The day deteriorated with frightening speed, and despite teeth chattering and lips turning blue with the cold, the furious boy stubbornly stayed put.

OoO

Daniel threw his hands up into the air.

"I can't see him, sure he isn't inside?" He peered around the housekeeper's ample frame as though Jack hid there un-noticed.

Antoinette rolled her eyes. "My guess is he's up one of those trees!"

Arching an eyebrow and carefully undoing her apron strings, Antoinette looked at the back door and gave Daniel a pointed stare. "It's raining, Doctor Jackson, and I want that little boy back in this house within the next five minutes." Tutting and shaking her head, she knew George would never have tolerated Jack's tantrum. "General Hammond will be quite annoyed if we manage to kill the boy within an hour of his leaving." Pointing her finger in the air, she added, "I'll warm milk for Jack and I'll make a brandy for you. Now, find that child and bring him to me."

Obediently nodding his head, Daniel glumly picked at his tweed coat. Sighing, he had a quick flash of sympathy for Jack. "You know, this is hard for him."

"Oh, it's a picnic for the rest of us, believe me! Why his parents had to go out of town for a month is beyond me! Why couldn't they have taken the child with them?" Walking back inside and continuing her opinions of modern day parents, Antoinette slammed the door shut.

Sighing at the no nonsense housekeeper's retreating back, Daniel muttered, "Okay, I'll drag the tyke inside and you can force warm milk down his throat. Trust me, given how much Jack loathes milk, this will be punishment enough. "Grinning and waggling his eyebrows, he added, "I'll have the brandy though."

The air was freezing, and as Daniel took a deep breath he promptly sneezed. Tooting his red nose and shoving the handkerchief back into his pocket, he looked at the worsening weather with alarm. "Come on, Jack, stop playing games." Digging his hands into his jacket, glasses fogging in the rain, he couldn't see the green sweater and brown cap clad child sitting surprisingly still.

Daniel returned to the back porch, shook the rain from his coat, and said, "He's not out there. Jack would be smart enough to know climbing a tree would be crazy in that weather. The little monster is probably hiding in the closet."

"Oh? No, I have looked everywhere, Doctor Jackson." Antoinette looked around dubiously. "I don't think he is!"

"He's in the house, hiding, trust me."

Taking the offered towel, Daniel rubbed his hair and said, "Jack, I know you're sulking, but it would be very helpful if I knew where you were." Looking around the living room and tapping Martouf, the stick insect's aquarium, he added. "Jack, you have made your point."

Picking up a cushion sticky with peanut butter, Daniel rolled his eyes. The living room was full of various creatures Jack felt he couldn't live without. The stick insect poised perfectly behind its branch reveled in the absence of tiny fingers tapping at his window, and the zebra finches huddled lovingly close on their perch. "Okay, guys," Daniel, said, "Which one of you is going to give up the kid with the missing front teeth?"

"I have to be at the library in fifteen minutes! Ja- Jackk!" Running back outside and looking at the darkening sky, Daniel's voice trembled as he shouted, "I am going to be very irritated in a minute! Jack!"

Smirking, Jack put his elbows on his knees and his chin in his palms and giggled. He was enjoying Daniel losing his mind enormously, and has no intention of revealing himself.

His smile disappeared though as a freezing gust of wind had him shivering while rain beat down on him. The sky began to darken and ominous clouds rolled across the sky, making the day dull and grey.

Shivering and unable to stop his teeth chattering, Jack wondered if climbing the tree had been such a sound tactical move after all. Blowing air between his teeth softly, he bright the wet little mouse to his lips, kissed her and said,

"Anise, I think we might have to go with Rock Boy after all. Remember to smile, and we'll talk him into keeping quiet. What George doesn't know won't hut me!"

The wind howled and rattled the branches, and Jack's bolt hole turned treacherous. Wincing as the rain pelted him, the little colonel began to climb down, and edging his bottom along the branch, cried out as a splinter dug into his hands. His expression changed in an instant, and the childlike personality rose to the surface. His lips stiffened into a look of shock and pain. "Ouch!!" Shaking his smarting hand, the bright red blood distracted him and he lost his balance, tumbling down onto the hard ground below. He landed on the other side of the fence and was hidden from view.

Jack's willfulness had cost him dearly.

"Jack?" Daniel called. "Where are you?"

TBC…


	4. Chapter 4

Author: Amberfly

Series: George's Folly.

Title: And They All Came Tumbling Down.

Warnings: Mention of Charlie.

Category: General.

The emotions of fear, horror and shock struggled for supremacy on Jack's face, with horror finally winning. Jack had tried to be careful, but the branches were slippery, and crashed heavily hitting the ground with a bone-crunching thud. His head bounced on the partially frozen earth, and blinking with shock, he instinctively rolled onto his side whimpering softly. "Oh, that hurts! George?"

Badly winded, face pinched with pain, Jack tried to suck air into his lungs his face mottling with a livid bruise. Spitting blood from his mouth, his tongue probing his bitten cheek, he cried out again, this time a little louder. When no one came, Jack forced himself into a semi sitting position, but collapsing, spat dirt and grass from his mouth, "Someone, please, come and get me."

OoO

The weather progressively grew worse, and with his collar pulled up as far as it would go, Daniel strode angrily around the backyard. Mumbling dire retributions, he stared into the trees dense foliage and he cupped his mouth to holler into the wind," Jack? For God's sake! Make me climb that damn tree and you'll be a very sorry, part time chipmunk!"

Slapping his hands against his thighs with frustration, Daniel scanned the yard once again. "Jack, I'm getting wet which means, so are you!" Throwing his eyes heavenward and cursing in a language he knew Jack would understand but Antoinette probably wouldn't, he checked his watch and said. "Okay, so I will concede that the library is officially not going to happen, but, and it's a big but, the hamburger still might. That's if you cut the Black Ops crap and come down!"

Daniel didn't hear the housekeeper come out until she tapped him on the shoulder. She was soaked and her expression was grim

"Doctor Jackson! Please don't feed the child's ridiculous fantasies!" Antoinette had flown down the sodden stairs, her rain hat held tightly over her carefully teased hair, and blinking through the rain, she said, "I had a thought that the little stinker may be in the attic! I can't reach the trapdoor!"

"Good thought, because I am telling you, he isn't out here!"

"Doctor Jackson, so we are clear. Once we find that naughty boy, I expect you to be very firm! That does not include the buying him hamburgers! "

"I know, Antoinette, but really, he's a good kid, just forgets his boundaries every so often. We'll tell George and let him deal with it. Tell you what! I'll order pickles and make him eat them, that's torture enough."

"Oh honestly! "Antoinette wagged her finger and turned to return to the house muttering under her breath. "Mine would have been over my knee! Doesn't know his boundaries? Please!"

OoO

Jack lay curled into a ball, eyes firmly shut as he listened to Daniel and the housekeeper discuss his many shortcomings. Too tired to even cough, he knew he should alert Daniel but couldn't summon the energy. The rain continued to beat steadily down on the little boy who figured he'd be clever and climb a tree in the middle of a storm.

Shivering, and unable to stop his teeth from chattering, Jack wondered where he was. He knew it wasn't their yard, but had forgotten the tree overlapped Mr. Hastings yard. When he'd fallen, he fell into the absent neighbor's yard, and things continued to become dire. His leg twisted under him and when he tried to straighten it, the pain caused him to scream. Panting, and closing his eyes once more, he thought he heard a familiar voice whispering at the corners of his mind. The voice was high pitched but deep with concern, and Jack struggled to remember where he'd heard it before.

"Daddy? Daddy? Come on, you have to open your eyes."

Moaning, Jack tried to wriggle onto his back, the voice triggered a long buried memory, and he wondered if he was dreaming. "Charlie?" he whispered back, "Is that you? Say, this is a war zone! No place for a damn rookie! I'll tell Michaels to send you home." Trying to lift his head, Jack hissed, "This mission is a bust, kid, you have to leave!" Falling back onto the ground, he said weakly, "Kalawsky, get my kid the hell outta here."

Kneeling down, Charlie brushed the wet bangs from Jack's face, "Its okay, Captain," his voice calm and controlled, "I know the mission went belly up. But it wasn't your fault, Dad."

"Charlie? Is that you? Hey, long time no see! How come you're dry and I'm wet?" The world spun out of control for Jack, and feeling bewildered and frightened, he clawed at the one hope he had.

With his trademark gappy-toothed smile, Charlie shrugged with nonchalance. Hands plastered on his hips, he giggled brightly, "Dunno! Hey, look at you! Remember the zombie movies? That's what you look like!" Rolling his eyes and lowering his voice, he added as an after thought," Oh, by the way, Grammy said to say hello, and stop climbing trees you little eejit! Pops said great fall!"

Jack smiled. "Hey! How long have you been here?" Catching his breath as a stab of pain ripped through his leg, Jack gritted his teeth and said. "Tell them not to worry about me, I have a hard head! Say, why are you here? I mean, shouldn't you be in--somewhere else?"

Grabbing his red yo-yo from his jeans pocket and expertly flicking his wrist, Charlie laughed, "Sure, Dad, I can see just how fine you are." Placing his hand on Jack's shoulder blade, he gently rolled him back, leaving his warm hand resting on his father's frozen body.

Feeling the warm touch, Jack sighed, and stubbornly tried to flip back again. "Hey, I can't see you!" Wriggling but crying out as shards of pain shot up his leg; he swiped at the tear that rolled down his face. "Crap that hurts, Doc! Got a med kit there? Morphine? Come on, just one shot! It'll be okay, just one more shot." Jack groaned and begged for the doctor in his mind to relieve his pain. Just like the good old days.

Charlie shook his head, and bunched his hands onto his hips. He said firmly, "Stand down, Major. You are badly hurt, but you need to ride out the storm." Rubbing his back and speaking with a soothing voice, he added, "You'll be home soon, you just have to hang on a while longer."

Nodding his head and chewing his lips savagely, Jack nodded, but pleaded, "One more shot!" He reached out a hand and grabbled at thin air. "God, please!"

"No! Suck it up!" Charlie growled. "Now, do we need to have another conversation? No? Good man."

With a flicker of boyish approval in his eyes, Charlie's voice lightened, and giggling, he confided, "Daddy! Are you ever a bad assed kid! Grammy said you were the same the first time around!" Suddenly serious, the little boy shook Jack by his bruised arm, and wincing at the pain it caused. "Daddy! You need to stay awake. You bounced on the fence and now you're lying in old man Hastings's yard." Stroking Jack's head, carding the blood stained hair through his fingers, the little boy from so far away urged, "Daddy! Stay awake! Listen, the neighbors are away and no one knows where you are! If you don't get help soon, you'll die! Come on, Daddy, you have to try! Bawl, blubber, yell, anything, but let Danny know where to look!"

Closing his eyes, mesmerized by the feather light strokes, the little colonel struggled to think clearly. "Charlie? Don't go!" Coughing little drops of blood in the air, he lowered his voice and said conspiratorially, "Walk at night only! The desert will consume you otherwise! Ration the water; we don't need food, okay?"

Charlie nodded his head, "Sure thing, we are close to a base now, another couple of miles and then you'll be de-briefed and evacuated. You are doing fine; just keep on walking, airman"

"Who is hurt bad? You? How's that possible?" With strength he'd forgotten he possessed, Jack groaned, and flipped painfully onto his back. Smiling weakly, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, he wheezed," Say! Do ya know that we look a lot alike! Feel weird to you? Does to me!" Another spasm of pain shot down his leg, butJack forced himself to stay alert..

"Charlie, I got a white mouse! Called her Anise, she looks exactly like your old one. What was his name? I can't remember." Panting, Jack knew he'd broken a rib, and with bone aching weariness, he whispered," Don't suppose you brought a blanket with you, I'm freezing by butt off here. Doesn't matter though, have a feeling I might be joining you soon."

Smiling wistfully, Charlie swiped at the dirt and blood caked on Jack's face, and murmured, "No, Daddy, you can't. I wish we could be together, but it's not your time. But, that means you have to stay awake!" Kneeling down and picking leaves and twigs from the blood mattered hair, Charlie said sternly, "You need to call out to Danny. Come on, you've done it before, remember Iraq? You crawled out of a desert with a fractured skull! Daddy! Pay attention! You can do this."

Jack winced at the noise in his head, and blinked with confusion. "What, Iraq? Frank? Is that bastard here? He'll leave us behind, Charlie! Don't trust him, okay?" Fresh tears streamed down his cheeks, and warm and salty, dribbled into his mouth. Shutting his eyes firmly, embarrassed to be crying, Jack whimpered, "I can't, sir, I can't go on…the pain is terrible, feels like claws tearing at me." With a heart-wrenching sob, he turned his damp, brown eyes, full of suffering, on Charlie. "We'll die in this stinking hellhole!"

Charlie's face wavered, Suck it up, soldier! Pain is good; it means you are still alive. Holler for Daniel, he's just the other side of the fence."

Squatting and leaning into Jack's direct line of vision, he said, "Mickey, Dad, I named my white mouse Mickey! Remember? You laughed and said as long as it wasn't a Minnie that I could call it Donald Duck!" Dropping onto his bottom and crossing his legs, Indian style, Charlie giggled, "You were always funny! All my friends liked you the best!"

Jack smiled but moaning with the pain, asked "Are you happy, Charlie? Pops and Grams looking after you?" Unable to keep his eyes open longer than a few seconds at a time, he added, "I am so sorry, Charlie."

Shrugging a shoulder, Charlie said that he understood.

"I know, Daddy, but it wasn't your fault. I knew I was being naughty; I just wanted to look at the gun. You're the best dad in the whole, wide world; was an accident is all."

Rocking forward and resting his forehead on Jack's, Charlie O'Neill shed tears that intermingled slowly with those of the little boy who was also his father.

"Hey, we do look the same don't we, I'm bigger though!"

Giving his head a quick shake, eager to dispute the outrageous claim, Jack suddenly groaned with pain, and frightened by its intensity, whispered "God, that hurts! Charlie, give me your hand. I want to stay with you forever."

"Oh, finally! It's about time! You would have thought that Daniel would have found you ages ago! It's all going to be fine, Dad! Daniel is coming! Boy, are you ever gonna get it! Don't know how much longer you're going to be little, but I bet you'll be standing in the corner for the whole time!" Standing up and moving backwards into nothingness, tears rolling down his freckled face, Charlie O'Neill waved his hand goodbye for the final time. "Be good, Dad! No more tree climbing in the rain! Don't make me tell Grams!"

OoO


	5. Chapter 5

Jack forced an eye open and reaching out felt nothing but the splatter of raindrops on his hand. "Where are you going? Come back!" Weariness finally overwhelming him, Jack knew he needed to stay awake, but he was tired, and his head hurt. His tears mingled with the rain as he whispered, "Don't leave me."

A gust of wind blew red and orange colored leaves into the air, swirling them into a colorful wigwam, and the unmistakable voice of a child carried in the air. "I love you!"

"I love you more." Jack whispered.

OoO

Daniel never knew what made him lean over the neighbor's back fence, but he thanked the gods that he did. The rain began to sheet across the yard, and as he ran to the backdoor, he heard the tinkling sound of a child's laughter. "Jack? Is that you?" But, deep in his heart, he knew it wasn't. Cupping his hand to his eyes, squinting through the rain, his mouth opened with wonder. Hundreds of leaves danced in the air before exploding into nothing. Confused by the image, he was shaken from his thoughts by another sound. This time of a child crying.

His heart froze. "Jack? Is that you?" Putting his hands on the rickety wooden fence and peering over, he found who had made the cries. "Jack!" Turning and waving at Antoinette huddling on the porch, he yelled, "Found him, and ring Doctor Frasier! Now!" Scrambling over the fence, Daniel jumped to the ground, landing inches from his young friend.

"Daniel?" Jack whispered.

"Jack, it's going to be okay. I'm here now."

All his hard learned training surfaced, and all thoughts of panic left as an icy calm took over. He knew what he needed to do, and slipped into auto mode. Checking for a pulse, he took off his jacket and covered Jack gently, running his fingers across the boy's cheek. "Jack, I know you're scared, but you need to lie still, okay? I don't know if you have a spinal injury."

"Yup, Charlie told me to keep awake and lie real still."

Daniel nodded. He raked his eyes up and down the small, shivering body and gently placed his handkerchief on the badly gashed leg. "Charlie? Okay, we'll talk about that later, but for now can you wriggle your fingers for me?"

"Course!" Jack weakly moved a finger. "See!"

"Good man."

"I'm cold! But its okay now, isn't it? Charlie told me I just look a little beat up is all."

"Did he? Well, he's right, and you'll be up and about in no time!"

Daniel's concentration was broken by an insistent hand tugging at his sweater. Antoinette had come prepared.

"Doctor Jackson? Here, take these." She promptly handed over a pile of thick, checkered blankets, before falling to her knees. "These are the warmest one that I could find!" Her expression pinched and worried, she reached down and kissed her little antagonist's face "Honey, I am here now. Antoinette is here."

Jack smiled weakly as a tear rolled down his cheek. "Can you take Anise? She's all wet!"

"That white mouse? Doctor Jackson!!" Antoinette scowled, but her eyes danced with merriment. "I do not hold rodents!"

"Charlie said you'd say that!"

Daniel snorted softly and heaved a sigh of relief as he saw Janet and the paramedics' race across the grass. The rain had let up, and the wind finally died down, but the air was still freezing. Jack needed to be moved, and moved quickly, and he stepped aside to allow her access.

"Here comes the cavalry, Jack, just like normal!" Daniel said softly.

OoO

Up and down the stairs, George ran, red in the face, while beads of sweat clung to his upper lip. Antoinette had foolishly given Jack her little silver bell, and the child rang it like Quasimodo. Every time Hammond wanted to snatch the bell away, he looked the bruised and broken little boy, and his heart melted.

Jack was indeed a mess. He'd suffered multiple injuries, including a nasty concussion, broken leg, sprained wrist, and the almost obligatory busted rib. Janet promised he'd heal nicely providing he had plenty of bed rest. Jack was horrified, but bowed to the determination of his adopted family.

Antoinette smothered him. She'd felt so guilty about presuming he was safely hidden inside, she lavished him with attention. Chocolate cakes, banana cream pies, cookies, and normally forbidden, albeit milky coffee, made their way upstairs.

George bought and had Sam install a PS1 and learned how to play games from the twenty first century. He was awful, all thumbs and no co-ordination, but neither he nor Jack minded. Laughter made up for ineptitude it seemed.

Daniel came over and read whatever Jack wanted. And they both quickly became Harry Potter devotees. Sitting on the bed, his arm wrapped around his former Team Leader's shoulders, they discovered all the tricks of dastardly wizards and their spell catchers.

At night, when everyone had either left or fallen into an exhausted sleep, Jack would turn on his lamp, and taking out Anise, chat to Charlie, Grams and Pops about his day. Outside the wind howled and the leaves shook, but he knew, they could hear him anyway.


End file.
